- Funding small business that produce products or deliver services that benefit low to moderate income people or communities

- Social enterprises sponsored by non-profit organizations

Loan Guidelines

Loan Amount: $250,000 to $1.2 million

Loan Term: Up to 3 years

Loan Approval Process: Approximately 30 days

Minimum Requirements

At least 1 year in business

Annual sales of $300,000

Main business location - Southeast and Mid-Atlantic regions, St. Louis Metro

Use of Loan Funds

Growth capital

General working capital

Inventory, equipment, or fixed assets

Refinance or consolidate debt

Other

The Need for Social Justice

According the U.S. Minority Business Development Agency, the country’s 8 million minority-owned firms contributed $1.4 trillion in revenue and 7.2 million jobs to the economy in 2012. While this is significant, it’s only a third of the revenue and employment that minority businesses could represent—if there were successful entrepreneurship parity between communities of color and majority communities.

From a social justice perspective, the Up Community Fund seeks to provide flexible financing and technical assistant resources to empower business owners, employees and communities of color to achieve parity.

Our Team

"We are excited to offer a flexible financing solution that has been specifically designed to meet the needs of entrepreneurs of color in the southeast region. UP Community Fund is a social justice solution that will make a difference to people and communities of low-to-moderate income. "